Friday, April 18, 2014

Working on our Website

These last few weeks have been so busy. I haven't had a chance to get much writing in but I did manage to meet with our website builder, Heather. I am very excited to see what the outcome will be.Toni and I have decided we want our website to not only be informative, but interactive. There will be a separate blog on there that will encourage participating in discussions about the books. I am so looking forward to delving in and hearing thoughts and suggestions from our fans and then implementing them in our books!But the design is what Heather and I mostly talked about yesterday and I did get her creative juices flowing when I told her the hidden messages behind the story. I could see the wheels turning in her head and the smoke coming out her ears! Most of us don't really dive into our imaginations and least of all other's. As I explained to her the shows or movies that inspire me, or ancient history that I get ideas from, she was ready to go and watch these programs for ideas to emphasize the pages on the site.When I finally sat down and thought about our discussion there were some insights that came to me. Her and I discussed the differences in our personalities and also Toni's and mine. Toni is more out going and funny, I'm the standoffish and the observer type. When it comes to social media, she would probably do better at getting people engaged than I am. But no matter what, you really can't get your true self out in Facebook or Twitter. People really don't know what moves you, or who you truly are. I think sometimes people have this certain idea of what a writer is truly like when in fact, they have no idea. What inspires a writer, or moves them, is probably completely different that what you thought. Some of us lead totally normal lives, like most. We have families, friends, hobbies, and plans for our future. Some of us are shy, some clowns, and some of us can separate ourselves from the writing as if it were a 9-5 job. Some of us have book brain, like me, and some don't think about their books until they sit down to write for the day.There are those who prefer the more engaging scenarios with social media, like Facebook or emails, and some like the 140 character tid-bits of Twitter. Some love the images they can play with on Pinterest and some enjoy their blogs.I, for one, am looking forward to designing a newsletter and getting out our announcements and engaging people in a more personal agenda. Facebook is daunting anymore and hard to really engage since the Facebook page cuts out more and more how many people your posts will reach. Really looking at the differences of our personalities got me thinking of better ways to reach our fans and interact with them. This website is going to be awesome, I can feel it, and I for one am ready to reach my fans and have fun talking about the books!What do you do to engage your readers? Have you really thought about other ways than the normal marketing strategies we have all been taught?I would love to know your thoughts on this subject. Leave me a comment and let me know if you take the time to really think up the best ways to find your readers.Have a fun and wonderful weekend all!Love, Lisa

I didn't see this comment until today. Sorry about that! thanks for commenting on here, I appreciate it! We are trying to think of the next steps we should take to get our names and books out there. I think they could become successful if we do it right! ;-)